West Hollywood City Council will likely designate two 1920s buildings in Mid-City as Local Cultural Resources, a move that might help prevent further blight on the southwest corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Fairfax, at their meeting Monday night.
The two buildings in question, 7900 and 7906 Santa Monica Boulevard, are situated at a location once known as Crescent Junction. Built in 1924, these structures have been part of the West Hollywood landscape for nearly a century and have witnessed significant changes in the area’s commercial and social fabric. The corner building, known as the Hardy Building, ranges in addresses from 7900 to 7904 Santa Monica Boulevard and 1065 to 1071 Fairfax Avenue. The abutting building to the west, known as the Campbell Building, ranges in addresses from 7906 to 7914 Santa Monica Boulevard.
The corner was vacant until recently, when signage for a new restaurant started going up.
Both buildings were constructed during a period of commercial development that coincided with the expansion of the Pacific Electric Railway in the 1920s. This era was pivotal in shaping the town of Sherman, which later became the City of West Hollywood. The buildings were initially erected to serve the streetcar passengers and were part of a wave of similar-type commercial structures built throughout the Los Angeles region. Over the years, they have undergone alterations but have retained sufficient historic integrity to convey their association with streetcar-related development.
City Council’s decision will hinge on whether the buildings exemplify special elements of the city as they reflect significant geographical patterns associated with different eras of growth, settlement, and particular transportation modes. In this case, the buildings are strongly associated with the early patterns of West Hollywood’s history, particularly the commercial development that accompanied the Pacific Electric Railway expansion. City Staff has recommended the approval.
Another criterion states that a building must have a unique location or singular physical characteristic, or be a view or vista representing an established and familiar visual feature of a neighborhood, community, or the City. The buildings’ unique location at a once-prominent intersection and their design aimed to attract the attention of passersby on the streetcar and later in automobiles make them an established visual feature of the city.
The Historic Preservation Commission also found that the buildings meet all seven aspects of historic integrity as defined by the National Park Services. These aspects include location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. For instance, the buildings have not been significantly altered since their construction in 1924 and retain key exterior materials from that period. They also maintain their original design, including fenestration patterns and distinctive brick exterior finishes.
For the building at 7900 Santa Monica Boulevard, these features include its corner location, building set flush with the sidewalk, two-story height at the front with three stories at the rear, and the presence of a four-sided, corner wall-mounted O.B. McClintock Company clock, among others. For the building at 7906 Santa Monica Boulevard, the defining features include its two-story height at sidewalk frontage, four single-bay storefront openings, and brick wall masonry, to name a few.
A big shout out to Gunter Koeneke who did much research of the McClintock Clock. BTW there is a similar distinctive clock on Larchmont Blvd. , a community fave.
A unanimous vote by the City Council Members would be an important indication that they respect the definitive origins of the City and one which can serve to inspire sensitive future adaptive reuse of our Main Street at one of its important intersections. The National Trust offers a program to assist cities in preserving their Main Streets and enhance continuity of whatever future development may take place.